“Save Small School by Selling Pears” – University and Elementary Schools Work Together to Create Pear Economy
2017-03-16
[Reporter Lin Hsiao-Yun/News of Taipei] Shuang Lian, Miaoli is situated at the upstream of Liyutan Reservoir and mountain hill of zhuolan Township, where abounds in pear, grape, star fruit and citrus fruit. However, the local young people keep emigrating out of the township. Last year, the teachers and students from National University of Tainan and CYCU worked with Shuang Lian Community and Shuang Lian Elementary School to build the exclusive sand pear brand for Shuang Lian Community, namely “Shuang Lian Pear”. As a result, they raised NT$580,000 successfully and found the company. They engaged in selling the pear in the school as the sales base. In the first year, they generated the turnover in the amount of NT$3,800,000 and earned the profit amounting to more than NT$700,000. The earnings, NT$210,000, were fed back to Shuang Lian Elementary School, and the rescue mission, “Save Small School by Selling Pears”, was completed successfully.
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Ministry of Education held a press conference yesterday, announcing that National University of Tainan and CYCU helped Shuang Lian Community and Shuang Elementary School, Miaoli by “Saving Small School by Selling Pears”, and the universities and elementary school worked together to build the Shuang Lian pear brand in Miaoli. (Photographed by Reporter Lin Hsiao-Yun)
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The teachers and students from National University of Tainan and CYCU worked with Shuang Lian Community and Shuang Lian Elementary School to build the exclusive sand pear brand for Shuang Lian Community, namely “Shuang Lian Pear”. The residual earnings, NT$210,000, were fed back to Shuang Lian Elementary School, and the rescue mission, “Save Small School by Selling Pears”, was completed successfully. (Picture from Shuang Lian Pear Facebook)
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National University of Tainan and CYCU worked with Shuang Lian Community and Shuang Lian Elementary School to build the exclusive sand pear brand for Shuang Lian Community, namely “Shuang Lian Pear” and achieved the rescue mission, “Save Small School by Selling Pears”, successfully. (Picture from Shuang Lian Pear Facebook)
Profit more than NT$700,000 earned for the first year after building the exclusive Shuang Lian pear brand
The rural area elementary schools account for more than one -thirds of the whole elementary schools throughout the nation. In order to rescue these rural area elementary schools, in 2015, Ministry of Education promoted the “Innovative and Start-up Plan for Development of Communities Based on Schools”. Through the efforts spent over the past two years, Ministry of Education held the press conference for presentation of the results. The National Sun Yat-sen University team gathered 12 universities/colleges to work with 15 rural area elementary and junior high schools to help the communities develop micro-enterprises or start up business locally. The university/college courses also integrated the topics about rural area innovation and start-up to have the university teachers lead students to station in rural areas and attract the youth to start up business in rural areas.
Associate Professor of National University of Tainan, Lee Yun-Ping, and Assistant Professor of CYCU, Lee Ming-Yen, helped Miaoli Shuang Lian Elementary School. According to Lee Ming-Yen, Shuang Lian Elementary School has been founded for a half of century, and despite the high economic output value of sand pear, the sand pear was marketed by wholesalers who decide the pear price. Therefore, young people kept emigrating from the township. Without Shuang Lian Elementary School, the child students will have to travel for miles to attend the school far away from their home by several kilometers and the community will disappear gradually.
Some university students still stay locally to keep saving the rural area schools
After the team was stationed, it adopted the storytelling marketing to engage in sale in tangible and online channels. It earned the profit amounting to more than NT$700,000 in the first year, and Shuang Lian Elementary School recruited additional five students therefore. Now, the School has a total of 29 students.
Lee Yun-Ping also mentioned that some university students attending the plan joined the SHUAN_LIAN PEAR CORPORATIO after graduation, and some students worked as teachers in Shuang Lian Elementary School.
According to Assistant Professor of Nanya Institute of Technology, Chen Chi-Yi, they worked with Wun-Lan Elementary School, Xiulin Township, Hualien County to execute the plan for “building a new orchid garden” and plan the “Miyawa No. 1 Travelers’ Cluster” to make the school’s idle dormitory available to travelers for short-term stay tied with the characteristic courses for experiencing aborigine’s life style. The idea has gained popularity among venture capitalists.
Assistant Professor of I-Shou University, Chang Heng-Yen indicated that they worked with Koushe Elementary School of Sandimen Township, Pingtung County to execute the “Taro and Quinoa of Sagaran” project, apply the local food ingredients, quinoa and taro, signed the cooperation agreement with the quinoa demonstration field of Valjulu Tribe in the school area to research and develop the quinoa bread, quinoa swiss roll, and taro walnut cake.She also stated that in the future, they would sell the products in the game village and coffee shop of Djineljepan, and also form a company soon.
